France eSIM

France is one of the easiest countries in Europe to land online in: Paris Métro tunnels have 4G, and Paris now sells its Métro and RER tickets only in digital form, so your phone is your ticket from the airport onwards. A France eSIM is for visitors from outside the EU, because a SIM from an EU country already roams in France like at home; for a trip across several countries, look at the Europe eSIM.

What a week of data costs in France

Prices for 7 days of data, checked on 2 November 2026. Daily passes charge for each day you use the phone abroad, per phone.

For a family of four on Verizon, that's $336 for one week. O2 and T-Mobile customers may need nothing extra for a short trip, though T-Mobile's 256 kbps after the high-speed allowance is slow for maps and photos.

If your SIM is from the EU, it already roams like at home in France, as long as you spend more time at home than abroad. UK plans aren't part of that system any more, which is why the UK rows above carry charges.

Landing at Paris CDG, Orly, Nice or Lyon

Switch the kimsim line on as the plane taxis to the gate and turn on Data Roaming for that line only. Then walk through passport control, collect your bags and go through customs. Orange sells its Holiday tourist SIMs in its shops and in some Relay shops at airports and stations; with the eSIM already working, you can walk past them.

Entry rules. Since 12 October 2025, the EU's Entry/Exit System records non-EU visitors' fingerprints and a photo at the Schengen border, and it has been fully in place since 10 April 2026. Expect a longer queue at passport control the first time. ETIAS, the €20 travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, is not in operation yet; the official site says the EU will announce the start date several months ahead. So don't pay any website that offers you an ETIAS today. For British visitors, your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive and expire at least 3 months after you leave.

Paris tickets are digital now. Paper Métro and RER tickets are no longer sold, so you buy tickets on your phone, on a Navigo Easy card or by contactless card. Having data before the ticket machines is the easy way in.

Into the city:

• Paris CDG: the RER B takes about 25 minutes to Gare du Nord and 40 to Châtelet, every 10 to 20 minutes on weekdays, for €14. It leaves from two stations: CDG 1 (for Terminals 1 and 3) and CDG 2 TGV (for Terminal 2). Taxis charge a flat €56 to the Right Bank and €65 to the Left Bank. Take one only from the official rank outside the terminal, never from a driver who approaches you inside.
• Paris Orly: Métro line 14 reaches central Paris in about 25 minutes. The RER B with the Orlyval shuttle, changing at Antony, is the other rail route; the Orlybus has not run since 3 March 2025. Taxis charge a flat €45 to the Right Bank and €36 to the Left Bank.
• Nice: tram line 2 runs from both terminals to Jean Médecin in the centre and on to the port in under 30 minutes, every 7 to 8 minutes on weekdays.
• Lyon Saint-Exupéry: the Rhônexpress tram reaches Part-Dieu station in about 29 minutes.

Networks and coverage

France has four mobile networks: Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile. Free is the newest; it launched in January 2012. Your phone shows the French operator's name, not kimsim.

5G is widespread: the regulator, Arcep, counted 76,549 5G sites open in mainland France at the end of June 2026. Outside towns, expect 4G.

Underground in Paris, the RATP network has had 4G in stations, tunnels and trains since 2020, shared by all four operators.

Coverage is generally strong in cities, along motorways and on the main rail lines. Expect it to thin in high mountain valleys, in the interior of Corsica and in quiet farmland between villages. If you're driving, download offline maps first. The networks your plan uses are listed above.

Paris and the regions

• Paris: dense coverage on the street and underground. Old stone buildings and cellar bars can be weak indoors; step outside to load a map.
• Provence and the Côte d'Azur: good in Nice, Cannes, Marseille, Aix and Avignon, patchier in the hill villages and the Verdon gorges. Monaco sits between Nice and the Italian border and is a separate country on its own network, Monaco Telecom. Neither the France plan nor the Europe plan covers it, so add a Monaco eSIM if you're staying there.
• The Alps and ski resorts: usually fine in resort villages, with gaps on high slopes and in side valleys. Chamonix is close to both Switzerland and Italy, where a France plan stops working.
• The Loire valley: good in Tours, Amboise and Blois. Between the châteaux, on minor roads and bike routes, it can come and go.
• Normandy: fine in Rouen, Caen and Bayeux. Along the D-Day beaches and out at Mont-Saint-Michel it is generally usable, but download your tickets and tide times first.
• Corsica: good in Ajaccio, Bastia and the coastal towns; the mountain roads and hiking routes have long gaps. Signal goes once a ferry is well out to sea.

This is general guidance, not a coverage map.

Trains, Eurostar and getting around

• TGV and regional trains: book in the SNCF Connect app, which sells TGV INOUI, OUIGO, Intercités and TER tickets and stores e-tickets in the app or your phone's wallet. Save tickets offline before boarding: signal drops in cuttings and tunnels at high speed.
• Eurostar: trains from London arrive at Paris Gare du Nord, which is also on the RER B and Métro lines 4 and 5. A France plan only works once you're in France; if London is on your trip, the Europe plan covers both.
• Paris Métro and RER: buy tickets on your phone in the Bonjour RATP app, which sells Métro-train-RER tickets, airport tickets and Paris Visite passes and stores them on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Apps worth having

• Taxis and rides: Uber works in Paris and lets you book up to 30 days ahead. Bolt runs in Paris too, including a taxi option. G7 is the big Paris taxi firm, with about 10,000 taxis in the city and in-app card payment. At CDG and Orly, ride-app pick-ups use their own signed points, separate from the taxi rank. Set accounts up at home, because sign-up can send a code to your usual number.
• Getting around Paris: Citymapper covers the Métro, RER, buses and trams with live departures. Google Maps works too; download an offline area for any drive outside the cities.
• Payments: contactless cards are widely accepted. Some banks send a text code to approve a new device or a large payment, so keep your home line on for texts with its roaming off.
• WhatsApp: many hotels, gîtes and guides message you here. Keep your WhatsApp number working abroad.

SIM and phone rules

In France, a prepaid SIM only works once you've registered it in your name with an ID document. Orange asks you to validate your identity with valid ID when you activate one. Free asks for a passport, ID card or similar and suspends the line if you don't register within 15 days. Orange Holiday, the tourist SIM, must be registered within 30 days of arrival.

A travel eSIM installed at home skips the shop, the ID check and the registration. It's data only, so your home number stays in the phone for calls and texts.

Common mistakes

• Driving into Monaco on a France plan. It's a separate country a short drive from Nice, and your phone can switch to its network without you noticing. How regional plans work
• Leaving Data Roaming on for your home line. For non-EU SIMs, that's where daily charges start. Roaming goes on for the kimsim line only. Why roaming goes on for the kimsim line only
• Starting the plan on a stop-over. If you connect through London, Frankfurt or anywhere outside France, keep the kimsim line off until you land. If your plan started early
• Expecting a paper ticket at the airport station. Paris tickets are digital now, so install the eSIM before you fly and buy your ticket on the phone. Install on Wi-Fi before you fly
• No way to call for help. 112 is the emergency number in France, and 114 takes texts for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers. A data-only eSIM can't dial either, so use your home line or any local phone.

More on France

• eSIM for Europe: a guide for US, Canada and Australia
• eSIM vs roaming: which is cheaper for your trip?
• How much data do I need for a week abroad?

How we put this page together

We checked carriers' roaming price pages, Orange's and Free's prepaid pages, the regulator Arcep, Paris Aéroport and the other airport and transport sites, EU and UK government pages and the other sources noted above on 1–2 November 2026. RATP, AT&T and T-Mobile pages block automated checks, so we read those from their search listings. We haven't measured speeds or coverage in France ourselves, so coverage notes are general guidance, not a map. kimsim sells the eSIMs on this page.